Mondlicht Skalen
by Gaxxy
Summary: Matthew's people had been at war for decades with the dragons. Will the appearance of a mysterious stranger show him the way to end the war for good? PruCan AU
1. Chapter 1

_**Title:**_ Mondlicht Skalen (Moonlight Scales)  
><em><strong>Pairings:<strong>_ Canada/Prussia with mentions of Germany/Italy and others  
><em><strong>Genre:<strong>_ Fantasy/Romance/Drama  
><em><strong>Warnings:<strong>_ Yaoi, violence, angst, eventual character death, dragon!characters  
><em><strong>Summary:<strong>_ Matthew's people had been at war for decades with the dragons. Will the appearance of a mysterious stranger show him the way to end the war for good?

_**Prologue**_

For centuries humans and dragons lived easily side-by-side. Neighbouring every settlement of humans was a herd of the beautiful and dangerous creatures. There was a time when the very mention of dragons would send humans running for any kind of protection they could find. Then, one day, a handsome young man came face-to-face with a Grandhorn.

The dragon's long horns were adorned with fine jewels, a silver chain holding a bright emerald glittered against the golden scales of its forehead. All of which marked the beast's status. This was the alpha of a nearby herd. Callixtus gazed at the Grandhorn in awe, unfazed by the feral hiss passing through its dagger-like fangs.

When he dared to approach the Grandhorn had snapped its jaws warningly, barely missing his hand. However the man remained undeterred and proceeded forward until his outstretched hand settled against its snout. At his touch the beast froze mid-snarl, too stunned to even consider reacting to the intrusion. A cocky grin curled teasingly at Callixtus' lips. "All snarl and no flame. I knew there was no reason to fear you barbaric brutes." his musical, lilting voice was tinged with a mocking taint as he dared to move his hand in a stroking motion over the snout.

He hadn't been expecting the dragon's next move. It roared in outrage at his audacity, knocking Callixtus to the ground with a heavy blow to the chest with its snout. Before he could even regain his breath he was pinned down by a lumbering clawed foot. Two of the arm-length talons dug into the ground either side of Callixtus' face, preventing him from moving the slightest milimeter but not quite obstructing his ability to breath.

An irate snort sprayed noxious smoke and an unpleasent liquid into the man's face and, self-confident as he was, not even Callixtus dared to make any attempts at struggling. _"Arrogant foolish boy! Are you driven by insanity or do you simply seek to quicken your path into the afterlife?"_ It leaned in closer, pressing ever so slightly harder against his chest. _"I always knew your kind were hopeless, but clearly I had no idea just how far your foolishness truly flies. For your callous disrespect I should end you right here and now!" _When the man opened his mouth, whether to retort or protest the dragon neither knew nor cared, it pressed rougher against his abdomen.

"_Luckily I find myself impressed by your lack of fear. Far greater men than you have bolted at the mere sight of me in the sky."_ With this the dragon slowly removed its foot, growling lowly to warn Callixtus against any sudden movements. _"Tell me your name, boy."_

He smiled broadly as he shakily rose back to his feet. Though his knees still trembled at the foreign sensation of the blood rushing back into them, he stood tall with a victorious rise of his shoulders. "Callixtus. And do you have a name? Or should I simply call you Dragon?"

The great pools of acidic green venom narrowed in a silent warning and the long sinuous tail swished dangerously. _"Bernhard." _It would be years before they would cross paths again.

In the aftermath of a ferocious battle between man and dragon, Callixtus lay dying amongst the casualties. His chest had been torn harshly and his broken leg stuck out at a sickening angle. He was so busy coughing and spluttering more blood in an attempt to cry out for help, that he didn't even notice the hulking mass of golden muscle ambling over to hs side until the tip of the long tail settled on his shoulder. _"A lesser man should have died of those wounds by now." _The gruff voice held a surprising note of almost fond softness around the edges.

Callixtus' eyes snapped up defiantly to meet the Dragon's face. He grit his teeth, preparing for a finishing blow that the beast didn't intend to give. _"Be still little one. Rest assured I do not intend to harm you farther."_ The tail-tip slowly stroked at his cheek. _"Honestly, I don't believe there is another as stubborn as you. I watched you fight while the others were fleeing. It is rare to see such bravery even among my kin – your death would be a grave loss, I believe."_

Without another word the dragon raised its forepaws and dug a claw deeply into one scaly paw. _"This may hurt little one, I can't even assure you this will work. However I must ask that you trust me for the moment – this may be the only way to save your life."_ It watched him hesitate, waiting for the weak nod before dragging the claw downwards and holding the bleeding palm over Callixtus' torn-up chest. As soon as the first drop hit an agonised scream gurgled past his lips. He thrashed at the burning, back arching with each drop of thick blood that splashed into him.

It didn't take long for the pain to drive Callixtus into unconsciousness – his body still writhing in agony until the dragon withdrew its palm. Gingerly it used the bloodied claw to hook and remove one of the head-dresses adorning its horns and laid it on Callixtus' hand. Slowly the man's breath calmed and his body stilled. _"You'll live, Callixtus. And with my blood flowing in your veins we are bound for our remaining years."_

They weren't the last to form such a bond.

In fact, upon seeing how easily the pair worked together, the practise quickly spread among the herds and clans. From each clan a Grandhorn would choose a worthy human with whom to share their blood. Over the years the human would also come to share their own blood with their dragon partners.

Once bound a human's life was extended to match that of their Grandhorn. In exchange the dragon would gain the ability to change into a more human form. With the bonds, slowly peace began to settle between the two races. Each herd stuck to a particular human clan, every time the herd gained a new Grandhorn it became custom to choose their human from the same clan as their predecessors.

However the bonding wasn't without its draw-backs. Partners found they could no longer produce offspring; in a few cases some of the Dragons would grow unreasonably possessive and jealous in regards to their human.

No longer was the bonding a simple case of keeping the peace that originated with Callixtus and Bernhard. In essence they were taking a vow of infertility and monogamy. Willingly giving up the prospect of a future family and any possible romance, even if they had a lover before being chosen for the bonding.

This was the way the world worked. For centuries this became the accepted norm. The sacrifices of these selfless individuals allowed human and Dragon to live peacefully side-by-side.

Until that fateful day in one of the Northern settlements.

A howling roar echoed woefully through the mountains as a golden Grandhorn nudged a lifeless body with desparation filling its ice-like eyes. He changed in order to cling to the smaller male's form, bringing him close. The Grandhorn's eyes were wide as he rocked back and forth, lips parted in an attempt to get air past the landslide in his throat. "It's a nightmare! This isn't real! Just a nightmare! Why won't I wake up?"

His voice rasped the mantra harshly over and over again. Icy blue pools flashed dangerously as he clutched the corpse so tightly that blood began to seep out through small puncture wounds. "They did this to you, didn't they?" he murmured, finally ceasing his rocking. His hand shook frantically as he ran fingers through muddy hair. "Don't worry, they won't get away with this. I swear that I'll join you after I teach them. Wait for me there, I promise you'll be avenged. These wrong-doings will not go unpunished. So just wait for me a while longer."

From that day on the peace was shattered.

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><p>AN: Okay this is my first ever PruCan so go easy on me! I have no idea where this idea actually came from but I liked it and decided to just go with it. Hopefully you guys will find it interesting as well!

Just in case it wasn't too clear Grandhorn is just the name for the leader of a dragon herd and they can be of any gender. They are called this because they are the only dragons that adorn their horns with finery - as a symbol of their status.

Callixtus is Ancient Rome and Bernhard is Germania. You're free to use your imaginations as to how their partnership was while they were alive, as this was only brought up to set things up for the rest of the story.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this, please let me know what you thought!


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter One**_

"Get them inside, now! I want anyone that can still be saved in here as quick as possible, do you understand me? Tino, help get the injured onto the make-shift beds and hurry about it! Matthew I want you helping the Healers in any way you can! The same goes for the rest of you, now get a move on!" Arthur barked out orders as he flitted between the injured men and women, assessing just how badly the Dragons had harmed them. Matthew gave a curt nod and rushed to make himself useful.

The village hall was nowhere near large enough to accommodate the injured as well as the Healers, but leaving them out in the open was out of the question. Barely an hour ago the Dragons had left after yet another raid on their village. Ever since before he was born they had been attacking the village on a regular basis, slaughtering and injuring anyone they could. But this had been the first time Matthew had seen so many of his people needing such urgent treatment after a raid.

With a heavy feeling in his chest, Matthew found himself restraining one of his cousins so that he could be treated. He was struggling and shrieking, unable to keep himself still while the poor woman attempted to calm him enough to pour some sedative down his throat.

As soon as Cahir had been sedated the young woman gave Matthew a grateful smile which didn't quite meet her tired eyes. This war had been going on far too long, and long ago the people began to show signs of the toll it was taking on them. No matter how hard everyone tried they couldn't shake off the fear of how soon the next attack would come. The village no longer had enough able men and women to keep it safe and ward off the Dragons – with each raid more and more lives were being claimed.

Without a word Matthew just moved between the patients, carrying out any orders the Healers had for him – whether it was fetching an essential tool or some extra sedative; holding down one of the injured or forcing the Healer to take a drink or a small bite to eat so that they didn't faint from exhaustion.

Every once in a while he would catch snippets of chatter among those still conscious. Their words were hushed but Matthew had grown very good at picking up quieter noises – being naturally soft-spoken himself. What they said wasn't comforting, though. They spoke of the battle, how the Dragons had been far less careful in announcing their arrival than before. Matthew heard them talk of the way Arthur, the village mage, had sent a young female falling into the nearby lake. Apparently she hadn't managed to reach the surface after disappearing into the depths.

What troubled him the most though, was the talk of the Grandhorn. He had barely been sighted since the war began all those years ago – but this time he had been in the thick of the battle. In human form he had been the cause of most of the deaths this time around. According to the talk Arthur had attempted to reason with the Grandhorn; get him to stop the carnage. The Grandhorn simply threw him to the side. Normally aside from their partner a Grandhorn only listened to a mage – they were the ones that conducted the Bonding ceremonies. If Arthur couldn't get through to the Grandhorn then they stood no chance of surviving this war.

It wasn't until Arthur, his father-figure, took him off to one side and gazed into his face with concern that Matthew noticed he hadn't stopped once himself in just over a day. "Go home and get some sleep already, lad. We can handle things without you for a while."

"But there are still so many injuries to be treated!" Matthew protested. "I can't just ..."

"You can and you will!" Arthur snapped harshly. "We cannot afford to lose you to exhaustion, lad. In fact I'm surprised we haven't already – you take far too much onto yourself for any person to reasonably handle on their own. I've already lost your brother to this war and I refuse to let you die as a result of it as well, am I understood?" Even if Matthew had wanted to argue he just no longer had the energy to do so. Being still had brought the exhaustion washing relentlessly over him, not to mention Arthur's eyes and tone of voice left no room for rebuttal.

So he simply nodded and allowed Arthur to squeeze his shoulder in reassurance before heading to his small house. He knew Arthur was right and he shouldn't push himself so hard, but he had to do something. If he didn't then he was forced to think. If Matthew thought then he would inevitably relive Alfred's death three years ago or become entirely overwhelmed by the hopelessness of their situation. None of the other settlements or herds would come to their aid, wanting to keep their own relations as favorable as possible No one was going to help them; unless Arthur could get the Grandhorn to listen then the village was doomed.

Matthew sighed, dropping heavily into bed after removing his clothing. Even if they tried to move elsewhere the Dragons would probably just hunt them until they were all gone. All it would do is delay what seemed to be the inevitable.

"All we can do is wait until they destroy us all …" Matthew murmured, pulling the blanket over himself as he settled down into an uneasy slumber.

_Vast white wings spread out before him. Matthew stood in awe of the magnificent silver-white beast which sat proudly before him. The two of them were surrounded by lush grass and towering mountains, all untouched by savagery. Still entirely pure. "This place must be Heaven..." he whispered. _

_A low rumble echoed from within the Dragon's throat as it lowered its neck to meet Matthew's gaze at eye-level. The twinkling he saw in those ruby-like orbs seemed like the beast was laughing. To the boy's surprise all he felt was irritation. He wanted to know what exactly was so funny about what he had said!_

_**Why am I not terrified? I should be running … not standing here taking in the scenery.**_

"_Maybe because you're the only one smart enough to realise not all of us are to be feared." Matthew smiled in a wry fashion with a roll of his eyes. Why exactly was he so at ease in the presence of this creature? It was a Dragon, the same kind of beast who had killed his brother. The beasts which were currently destroying his home._

"_Why are you even here, in my dream?" Matthew finally asked, eyeing the Dragon with suspicion that just made it rumble once more in amusement. _

_It shook its great head and nudged Matthew none-too-gently with its snout. "Doesn't matter, it's time for you to wake up now, kid." Matthew opened his mouth to protest, not wanting to leave such a peaceful place behind. However he was interrupted by the Dragon nudging him again, this time hard enough that he fell roughly to the ground._

Matthew's eyes snapped open and his torso shot upright, shocked by the sudden awakening. An unexpected, low, chuckle brought his attention to the strange man sitting by his bed. "It's about time you woke up. I've been trying to rouse you for at least an hour, now. Seriously, it's not awesome making me wait like that, kid."

At first the dregs of sleep kept Matthew from fully grasping the concept that there was a stranger sitting right next to his bed and he just stared groggily at the man. Although he wore a hood to cover his face, Matthew could still see strands of incredibly pale hair that almost blended in with equally pale skin. It was strange, though, he sounded too young for such silvery white hair.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Matthew croaked, his voice still raw from hours without use.

The stranger clicked his tongue irritably and shook his head. "No time for answers, because you were too stubborn to wake up when I needed you to." he hissed, fishing around inside his robes. "Keep hold of these. No don't ask any questions, we don't have the time." He shoved something into Matthew's hand and closed the boy's fingers around them. "Keep that on you at all times, but don't let anyone else know about it. Never let it get away from you." Matthew looked down at the delicate chain which was attached to an elegant silver design, set with small rubies. It was absolutely beautiful.

"I'll explain when we see each other again. Don't tell anyone I was here, got it? This'll all be our little secret." Before Matthew could even think about responding he was pushed back down into a lying position. He was unconscious as soon as his head hit the mattress.

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><p>AN: Yeah it has been a little while, I know. But as I said I have been trying to focus on Unter Dem Licht Des Vollmonds first. That does not mean that this or Era Il Mio Schiavo are going to be forgotten because I will still update those when I can. I just want to finish Vollmonds so I can give these two the focus they deserve. Thanks for your patience and let me know what you think of it!


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